Background:

Tiberias is one of the four Jewish Holy cities, and the capital of
the Galilee. It has a long history since it was established in the
early Roman period. It was a religious, administrative and culture
center of the Jewish nation after the loss of Jerusalem for
500 years until the Persian and Arab conquest. Many of the most
important post-bible books (Mishna,
Talmud) have been composed in the city which was the home of many
Jewish scholars.

This page introduces the city
and links to additional web pages that detail the special ancient
sites in the area of Tiberias.

Location:

The city is located at the west
side of the lake of sea of Galilee. The old
city is situated on its shore, at -200M (below sea level).
The new city, with a population of 40,000, has spread out around the old
section - to the sides and to the top of the hills around.

The city was first established on the southern side,
and continuously expanded to the north over the 2 Millenniums of its history.
Therefore, there are 4 major zones starting from the oldest in the south-

South: the hot springs of Tiberias, and the
old city of Hammat (now in ruins)

Center: The Roman city (now in ruins), with the Bereniki hill
on the west side

North-Center : the walled Ottoman city, with the new high
rising hotels

North and up the hill - the modern Israeli city.

An aerial photo is shown below, indicating the major points of
interest.
You can point on
the yellow points to navigate to the selected
point in this page or other pages.

History:

Early history

Tiberias at the biblical times was
located first in Tel Rakkath (Raqqat), 2KM north
of the Roman Tiberias. Another village was located in
Hammat, the hot springs town which today is in
the south of the city.

Foundation of the Roman city

Tiberias was founded
in 18 AD by Herod Antipas, son of Herod the great and Jewish ruler of
the Galilee (4 BC-39 AD). He was appointed by Augustus Caesar as the
ruler of Galilee and Peraea, the east bank of Jordan. He made the new city his capital, and named
the city after the Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar (see statue on the right).

Later (54AD), the emperor
Claudius added his name to the city - Tiberias Claudiupolis.

Bust of Tiberias Caesar

Herod also
minted coins in the city, with its name on it, thus showing its important
role. He also used the coins as a means of propaganda, to encourage Jews to
settle in the new city, since they refused to settle here (it was found that
the city was built over an old cemetery). It took the city more than 110 years
to find a religious way to overcome this problem, move the graves out and
"Kosher" the city.

The first coin was
minted by Herod Antipas at Tiberias in 20/21 AD. The coin, seen here on
the right, shows an upright reed surrounded by Greek letters that read 'of
Herod Tetrarch'. Also it bears a date equivalent to 20/21 AD. It is made
of bronze and is only 16 mms in diameter. Presumably the reed on the coin
was intended to indicate the location of the city, as reeds grew on the
shore of the Sea of Galilee. (Thanks to Peter Lewis for this entry)

Coin of Herod Antipas

Jewish Revolt

During the Jewish revolt
against the Romans, Josefus Flavius fortified it. However,
when the Romans finally came, the city opened its gates to Vespasian - and was
thus spared destruction.

After the revolt, at the end of the 1st C AD,
the center of the Jewish population moved to the Galilee. The religious and
administrative leadership, the "Sanhendrin", moved to this city. It was its
forth and last Galilee location (after Usha, Shefaram
and Beit-Shearim), and marked the rising of the city's importance in the post
temple years.

Late Roman/Byzantine

The city expanded during the good Roman
and Byzantine years, and became one of the major cities in the Holy Land.

The
Peutinger map (Peutingeriana tabula),
based on a 4th C map of Imperial Roman roads, shows
the major roads from Tiberias (shown as "Tyberias"):

south-eastern
road through the south of Sea of Galilee ("Lac Tyberias"), across the Jordan to
Gader ("Gabara");

The north
road from Tiberias to Banias and the east road through
Capernaum to the east are not shown on the map.

Ottoman period

David Roberts painted this picture of Tiberias in 1839:

Photos of the Library of Congress

to be continued...

Photos:

(a) General view of the city

This is a view from the hill above
the city. The new city buildings are seen in the foreground,
and behind them is the Sea of Galilee. In the background are the
Golan heights. Along the shore are the high rising hotels (4 are
seen in the right bottom corner), which is where the location of the
old city.

Click on the photo to view it in higher
resolution...

The photo below shows a view from along the old
city walls - towards the west hills above the city. These hills are
actually at sea level, while Tiberias is 200M below, due to the
great depression of the Jordan river valley.

Note the round hill that towers over the old
city: its name is Berniki (see below).
This is the Roman Tiberias.

(b) Greek Orthodox Church

At the east side of the old city, on the shores of the sea, is
the old Greek orthodox church. It is located at the south-east part
of the Ottoman city, which was built to the north of the Roman city.

The walls are from the 18th C AD, during the Ottoman period,
built by a
Bedouin called Daher El-Omar at 1740 (See also Shefaram
which was his first base). This site is also a beach.

Another view of the southern side of the Ottoman
wall.

(c) Open Museum

Near the high rising hotels there is an open museum and a tourist
center that shows some of the antiquities.

(d) Hotels and Tourism

The new and the old: in the foreground - the
Ottoman walls; in the background - one of the high rising hotels.
The hotels and tourism are the city's main income.

Tiberias is located on the shores of the sea of
Galilee, where there is a lot of sportive activities. The hot and
dry weather, the sweet water, and the calming atmosphere of the lake
- makes it a favorite vacationland.

(e) Driving North:

(f) Roman Tiberias

The hill that towers over the old
city is called Berniki, 190M above the old city. The hill is named
after the sister of King Agrippa II. As can be seen in the
foreground of the photo below, it is in ruins and yet waiting to be
excavated. On the top and slopes of this hill King Herod Antipas
built his fort, palaces and government buildings. From the hill was the source of
the water for the city, which was served by an aqueduct.

photo by Gal Shain

On the south-eastern foothills of Berniki hill,
is the location of the southern walls and gate of the Roman and Byzantine city.
The 1st C Roman gate complex and a Roman bridge were recently excavated and
reconstructed, as part of the new archaeological park.

To the north of the south gate are the ruins of the
Roman Theater, seen in the photo below. Constructed in the 1st C AD, enlarged in
the 2nd C, it had seating capacity of 7,000 people. It is also recently
excavated and reconstructed, as part of the new archaeological park.

Old Testament References:

(a) Joshua 19:32,33,36

The city preceding Tiberias is Rakkath (Raqqat), which is one of
the cities that were within the territory of the tribe of Naphtali.
Note that Hammat is the city of the hot springs of Tiberias, which
is also listed here.

New Testament References:

There are few references of Tiberias of Jesus visiting or acting
in the city , which is initially surprising (the city was the
capital of the area). This is due to the fact that there was a small
Jewish presence in the city at its beginning.

The city is referred in the context of the "sea of Tiberias",
another name for the sea of Galilee after the city gained it fame
and importance.

(a) John 6:1, 23

1: After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is
the sea of Tiberias.

23: Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto
the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given
thanks.

After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at
the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.

Historical References:

(a) Josephus Flavius (Antiquities, Book 18 Chapter 2:3)

Josephus, the commander turned historian, tells about the foundation
of the city, and that Jews refused to settle there since it was previously a
cemetery.

"And now Herod the tetrarch, who was in great
favor with Tiberius, built a city of the same name with him, and called it
Tiberias. He built it in the best part of Galilee, at the lake of
Gennesareth. There are warm baths at a little distance from it, in a village
named Emmaus. Strangers came and inhabited this city; a great number of the
inhabitants were Galileans also; and many were necessitated by Herod to come
thither out of the country belonging to him, and were by force compelled to be
its inhabitants; some of them were persons of condition. He also admitted poor
people, such as those that were collected from all parts, to dwell in it. Nay,
some of them were not quite free-men, and these he was benefactor to, and made
them free in great numbers; but obliged them not to forsake the city, by
building them very good houses at his own expenses, and by giving them land
also; for he was sensible, that to make this place a habitation was to
transgress the Jewish ancient laws, because many sepulchers were to be here
taken away, in order to make room for the city Tiberias whereas our
laws pronounce that such inhabitants are unclean for seven days"

(b) Josephus Flavius (Wars- Book II, 20, 6)

Josephus fortified Tiberias:

"Josephus ... knew the Romans would fall upon Galilee, he built
walls in proper places ... and Tiberias."

(c) Josephus Flavius (Wars- Book III, 9, 8)

The citizens opened the gates and the Romans spared the city:

"The next day Vespasian sent Trajan
before with some horsemen to the citadel, to make trial of the
multitude, whether they were all disposed for peace; and as soon as
he knew that the people were of the same mind with the petitioner,
he took his army, and went to the city; upon which the citizens
opened to him their gates, and met him with acclamations of joy, and
called him their savior and benefactor. But as the army was a great
while in getting in at the gates, they were so narrow, Vespasian
commanded the south wall to be broken down, and so made a broad
passage for their entrance. However, he charged them to abstain from
rapine and injustice, in order to gratify the king; and on his
account spared the rest of the wall, while the king undertook for
them that they should continue [faithful to the Romans] for the time
to come. And thus did he restore this city to a quiet state, after
it had been grievously afflicted by the sedition".

Etymology (behind the name):

Tiberias - city dedicated to the Emperor Tiberius

Tveria - name of the city in Hebrew
(טבריה)

Hammat/Khamat - from the Hebrew root word "Kham" -
which means hot, due to the hot springs.